Well, hello there!

Cody and I recorded a special podcast episode answering YOUR questions on this year's Beer Branding Trends review.

Listen to the show here.

(or wherever fine podcasts are streamed)

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We received 23.5 questions from you all spanning Brand Architecture, SKU rationalization, non alcoholic beer, variety packs and "Dayparting." And one guy wrote in with a single word — "Skulls!!!" (so that's either a question or a threat? I'm going to call it half a question)

After reviewing all the submissions, we picked 10 questions to discuss in this episode, including:

1. We’ll be releasing a hard seltzer later this summer as a brand extension under our brewery’s name. Is there any downside to branding it under our brewery’s brand and not as its own thing? We already have plans for future flavors, if that’s relevant.

2. I’m a long time newsletter subscriber and was surprised you didn’t include the hard seltzer shakeout idea in the annual review. Did something change between the time you wrote that email and the publishing of this article that makes you think that was an incorrect prediction? 

3. What was your favorite [visual] trend this year? 

4. We’re a small brewery in planning near Cleveland. We're wondering if we should think about our brand architecture as part of this [foundational branding] process? We plan to eventually move into other categories (specifically a distillery), and weren’t sure if we needed to sort that out at this early stage? 

5. Do you think non alcoholic beer is going to be a major category, something along the lines of 5% share at some point, or is this kind of new and shiny, along the lines of hard seltzer three years ago?

6. Do you have any thoughts on putting cans on the front of variety packs? 

7. What do you think about Voodoo Ranger's new light lager? Do you think that will actually work? Voodoo Ranger is a dominant IPA brand and I wonder if this release could hurt New Belgium’s Voodoo Ranger strategy? 

8. The “Dayparting” trend is interesting. Do you think there would be any issue with a brewery releasing a coffee brand or some sort of energy brand targeted for mornings? 

9. Are there any trends that didn’t make the cut for this year's review?

10. How do you feel about the craft beer industry as a whole? The last few years have been marked by several major reckonings on race and gender (specifically sexual harassment and assault), and of course Covid. Are you optimistic or worried as we move forward?

I want to thank everyone who regularly reads and shares what we're doing here with Beer Branding Trends.

This newsletter (and podcast) have become a rewarding part of my job and I look forward to sitting down and tackling them each month.

I hope your brewery (or Bev Alc company) is all set for a solid summer. Let us know if CODO can help you with anything you've got on deck, and let's get out there and sell some beer.

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Isaac